Apple has been ordered to pay medical tech company Masimo $634 million by a federal jury for infringing on the latter's patent on blood oxygen monitoring technology. According to the jury, the Apple Watch's workout mode and heart rate notification features violated Masimo's patent rights according to a Masimo spokesman. An Apple spokesman weighed in by saying that the tech giant disagreed with the verdict and will appeal.
Last year Apple disabled the blood oxygen feature on Apple Watch Series 9 and 10, and on Apple Watch Ultra 2
The Apple spokesman said, "Over the past six years (Masimo has) sued Apple in multiple courts and asserted over 25 patents, the majority of which have been found to be invalid. The single patent in this case expired in 2022 and is specific to historic patient monitoring technology from decades ago." Masimo sang a different tune about the jury verdict calling it, "a significant win in our ongoing efforts to protect our innovations and intellectual property."
Which solution should Apple do?
License the patent from Masimo.
50%
Develop its own pulse oximeter.
50%
Disable the current tech and forget about it.
0%
You might recall that in January 2024, Apple was forced to disable the pulse oximeter feature on U.S. Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Ultra 2 timepieces after the International Trade Commission (ITC) ordered an import ban on Apple Watch models that were infringing on Masimo's patents. Apple ended up disabling the feature on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Series 10 models and the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
The original blood oxygen feature gave the results on the Apple Watch display. | Image credit-unknown
Apple's revised version of the pulse oximeter will once again be looked at by the ITC for any patent infringements
Apple developed a workaround for the feature that it believed the ITC would not consider to be an infringement on Masimo's patents. The new software/firmware was released for the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 with watchOS 11.6.1 and iOS 18.6.1. The new Apple Watch Series 11 was released this past September with the revised pulse oximeter already installed.
The original technology allowed the Apple Watch user to use the timepiece to collect the data, calculate the information and analyze it all on the watch. The final blood oxygen percentage would appear on the display of the Apple Watch. To avoid infringing on Masimo's intellectual property, the revised technology still collects the data on the watch, but a paired iPhone handles the analysis, calculations. The user's blood oxygen percentage is shown on the Health app of a paired iPhone under the Respiratory section.
The ITC tells Apple that it wants to hold proceedings over the revised pulse oximeter technology it now uses
The blood oxygen sensor measures the oxygen saturation of your blood. More precisely, it measures how much oxygen your red blood cells are carrying from the lungs throughout the rest of your body. If you're healthy, this reading should be within the range of 95% and 100%. Readings below 90% are considered a sign that the person has an underlying medical issue.
On Friday, the ITC said that it would hold a new hearing over the revised blood oxygen sensor. The agency justified holding the new proceedings by noting that the redesigned version was not included in the original investigation. The ITC will have to determine whether having a paired iPhone perform the necessary calculations and analysis, and display the results means that Apple is no longer infringing on Masimo's patents. Back in August when the new revised blood oxygen system was announced by Apple. The company said at the time that the revision had been approved by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Should the ITC decide that the revised pulse oximeter still infringes on Masimo's patent, Apple will have some options to consider. It could disable the feature once again, which might upset Apple Watch users. It could try once again to develop a pulse oximeter that doesn't infringe on the patent, or it could make a deal with Masimo to license the technology for impacted Apple Watch models. Personally, I believe that the best and easiest solution is the last one since it allows Apple Watch users to keep the feature, Apple won't have to disable it, and Masimo gets paid for the use of its technology. That would be a win-win-win solution.
Unlimited plans for $15/mo at Mint!
$180
$360
$180 off (50%)
Mint Mobile is also offering an incredible bargain for those seeking unlimited data! The carrier's latest deal lets you grab any unlimited plan for just $15/mo, bringing the 12-month Unlimited plan to $180 instead of $360.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: